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The LaLiga Golden Boot or the Pichichi Trophy is awarded to the Top Scorer in the LaLiga. In the last 10 years, the trophy has been won by either a Barcelona or a Real Madrid player 9 times, with Atletico Madrid’s Diego Forlan the only player to have broken the stronghold of the two clubs, exactly 9 years ago. In the last 10 years, the player who won the Pichichi Trophy has also won the European Golden Shoe. As a result, the race for the La Liga Golden Boot is intense, exciting and a fascinating tale of ups and downs throughout the season.
The record for the most wins is held by Spanish Striker Telmo Zara, who represented Athletic Bilbao and won 6 trophies between 1944 and 1953. Lionel Messi has already won the trophy 5 times, including the last 2 seasons, as have Alfredo Di Stefano, Quini and Hugo Sanchez. Cristiano Ronaldo has won it 3 times.
This year too, the race is intense and has already warmed up 7 games into the season. Today, we look at the 10 front runners to the La Liga Golden Boot, at the start of October, based on the number of goals they have scored so far.
#10 Luis Suarez (Uruguay, Barcelona)
Goals Scored: 3
The Uruguayan is one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation and has already won the La Liga Golden Boot once in the 2015/16 season when he scored 29 goals from 35 games in the La Liga. Last season, Suarez scored 25 goals from 33 games.
The Uruguayan started his goalscoring run this season with a brace against Huesca and then scored the equalizer in the hard-fought 2-1 win over Real Sociedad. Since then though, Suarez has not found the back of the net in his last 3 La Liga games and his last 5 games in all competition.
Suarez averages 3.3 shots per game this season, and his combination with Messi is also of utmost importance at Barcelona. The Uruguay striker also has 2 assists in the League so far, but will definitely be disappointed for not scoring a few more. As of now, Luis Suarez is at the 10th position among contenders for the La Liga this season, scoring a total of 3 goals from 7 appearances.
#9 Gareth Bale (Wales, Real Madrid)
Goals Scored: 3
The Welshman was expected to shoulder much of the goalscoring responsibilities this season, with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and Bale has responded by performing better than the Portuguese in front of goal so far this season. He has already scored 4 goals from 8 games in all competitions, one more than Ronaldo till the start of October.
In the La Liga, Bale has scored 3 goals from 6 games. He started his season with a goal in the very first match against Getafe. He would score in the next two games too, against Girona and Leganes. However, he has been unable to find the back of the net in the League since then and Real lost one of them and the other two games ended in a draw.
He did score in the win over Roma in the Champions League, but picked up an injury in the draw against Atletico Madrid in the La Liga last weekend, which saw him miss the defeat at the hands of CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. Real Madrid will be hoping that their current talisman regains his goal scoring form as soon as he makes his return from the injury.
#8 Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)
Goals Scored: 4
The Frenchman endured a tough time last season. He finished with just 12 goals from 47 games in all competitions, including just 5 goals from 32 games in the league. It resulted in his exclusion from the French National Team that took part in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and returned as World Champions. His wretched goal scoring form certainly cost him a World Cup winner’s medal.
Benzema seems to have taken the cue and has returned from the summer with renewed determination and desire. As a result, he has already scored 5 goals from 10 games in all competitions so far.
He scored his first goal in the La Liga this season with a penalty against Girona in the 52nd minute. He scored again in the game, in the 80th minute, as Real comfortably won with a 4-1 scoreline. He continued his superb goal scoring form in the game against Leganes, scoring another brace. Since then, however, Benzema has failed to score in the last 4 games in the league and has not scored in 6 games in all competitions since the start of September.
With 4 goals from 7 games in the league so far, Benzema is ranked 8th in the race to the Golden Boot at the start of October.
#7 Roger Marti (Spain, Levante)
Goals Scored: 4
The Spanish striker scored just 3 goals from 17 games last season, as he recovered from a ruptured cruciate ligament that kept him out of action for the entire first half of the season. This season, Roger Marti already looks ready to make up for lost time and has already scored 4 goals from 6 appearances.
Marti scored his first goal in the 3-0 win over Real Betis in the first game of the season, lasting 74 minutes on the field. He played the entire 90 minutes of the loss to Celta de Vigo, but was unable to find the back of the net. He twice gave Levante the lead in the next game, against Valencia, but his side could only earn a point. He drew a blank against Espanyol the following match, but returned to scoring ways in the disappointing loss to Sevilla. He lasted 61 minutes in the game against Real Valladolid, unable to score as his side succumbed to their 4th loss of the season. Last weekend, he was one of the unused substitutes in the win over Alaves.
In the 2016/17 season, Marti scored 22 goals in 37 games in the second division and as such, knows his way to the goal well. This season, he is averaging 3.2 shots per game and Levante will be hoping the striker can stay fit and keep banging in the goals. At the start of October, Roger Marti is in 7th position in this list.
#6 Wissam Ben Yeddar (France, Sevilla)
Goals Scored: 4
The 28 year old Frenchman has been in fine form so far this season, scoring 8 goals in 13 appearances in all competitions. Yeddar had to be patient at the start of the season, because out of the first 3 games, he was an unused substitute in 2 and played just 7 minutes in the other. He then came in at the start of the second half in the game against Getafe and could not find the back of the net. However, his time was just around the corner. He started his first game of the season against Levante and it turned out to be a man of the match performance. He scored a hattrick and registered an assist as Sevilla demolished Levante 6-2. In the very next match, against Real Madrid, Yeddar scored Sevilla’s third goal, summing up a memorable 3-0 win over Real at home. Yeddar also started Sevilla’s game against Eibar, but could not score
With 4 goals in 6 appearances, the Frenchman has already started the season well and he is currently ranked 6th in the race to the La Liga Golden Boot.
#5 Maximiliano Gomez (Uruguay, Celta de Vigo)
Goals Scored: 4
The Uruguayan had a decent run in the league last season, scoring 18 goals in 36 games and registering 5 assists. Gomez has also started the new season well, scoring 4 goals from 7 appearances in the la liga, and adding 3 assists.
Gomez struck his first goal of the season in his second game in the league, against Levante. He then scored against Atletico Madrid, in the next game. The following match against Girona turned out to be a disappointment, because Celta de Vigo lost the game and Gomez could not find the back of the net. In his next game, the Uruguayan scored an important goal in the draw at home against Real Valladolid. Against Valencia, in the following game, he drew a blank once more. Last weekend, Gomez gave Celta Vigo the lead against Getafe, but the match ended in a draw.
Gomez averages 2.3 shots per game this season and is in the 5th position among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot, at the start of October.
#4 Iago Aspas (Spain, Celta de Vigo)
Goals Scored: 5
The Spaniard has been a consistent performer for Celta Vigo over the years. Last season, Aspas scored 23 goals from 37 games, including 22 in the league. He seems to be in fine form at the start of the new season as well and has already notched up 5 goals from 7 games.
Aspas drew a blank in both of his first two games, against Espanyol and Levante. However, he was back on the scoresheet against Atletico Madrid, scoring his first of the season. It kicked started a run of 5 goals from 4 games, including a goal in the defeat to Girona, a brace in the draw against Real Valladolid, and a goal against Valencia. Last weekend, Aspas could not find the back of the net against Getafe, but it should be just a temporary breather before normal services are resumed again.
The Spaniard is currently ranked 4th in the list and will be hoping to be in the running till the end of the season.
#3 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
Goals Scored: 5
The Argentinean has won the trophy 5 times already, including the last 2 seasons in a row and will be hoping to become a record leveling 6 times winner of the La Liga Golden Boot this time. Last season, Lionel Messi scored 45 goals in 54 games, including 34 goals from 36 games in the league.
This season, the Argentinean has already scored 10 goals from 10 games in all competitions so far. He started the new La Liga season with a mesmerizing brace against Alaves in the first game of the season. The game against Valladolid saw him miss out from scoring, but Messi was back with another brace against Huesca, a game in which he also registered 2 assists. He failed to score in the win against Real Sociedad, but returned to his scoring form against Girona. Messi registered an assist in each of his last two games, against Leganes and Athletic Bilbao, but was unable to find the back of the net.
With 5 goals from 7 games so far, the new Barcelona Captain currently sits at the 3rd position among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot, at the beginning of October. By the end of the season, Lionel Messi will be hoping to be at the top yet again.
#2 Cristhian Stuani (Uruguay, Girona)
Goals Scored: 6
The Uruguayan joined Girona from Middlesbrough last summer, and scored 21 goals from 33 games in his debut season. Stuani has started the new season very well, scoring 6 goals from 7 games so far.
After failing to score in his first 2 games, the Uruguayan got into the act against Villareal, scoring the only goal in a hard earned win. He then followed it up with a brace against Celta de Vigo, which earned Girona a 3-2 memorable win. In the next game, he stunned Barcelona, scoring another brace, as the game ended 2-2. The defeat to Real Betis saw him miss out from the scoresheet, but Stuani was back among the goals last weekend against Huesca, when he game Girona the lead, only for the game to end in a draw.
Stuani will be hoping to keep up his goal scoring run throughout the season and Girona will be counting on him to fire them to safety in the La Liga. For all his efforts, Cristhian Stuani is currently ranked second in this list.
#1 Andre Silva (Portugal, Sevilla)
Goals Scored: 7
The Portuguese striker is currently on loan from AC Milan and will be hoping to emulate the other outgoing Portuguese in the La Liga. Andre Silva will be looking to spice up the battle with Lionel Messi this season as he aims to get him hands on the Golden Boot and he has just the start he needs.
Silva has scored 7 goals from 11 games in all competitions and introduced himself to La Liga with a fantastic hattrick in his very first game of the season. Most strikers take time to adjust to a new league, to a new team, but Silva was phenomenal on his debut, firing Sevilla to a 3-0 win. The next 3 games saw him go through a temporary barren phase, as he failed to score against Villareal, Real Betis and Getafe, but Silva found the back of the net against Levante again. He then scored a brace against Real Madrid, showing the worl that he can do it at the highest level. He was also among the goals last weekend, scoring against Eibar.
With 7 goals in 7 games in the league, Andre Silva is ranked at the top among the contenders for the La Liga Golden Boot, but can he maintain his fabulous start to the season? Only time will tell.
